Channing Tatum has long proven he can nail comedy—from the 21 Jump Street movies to Magic Mike and Logan Lucky—but his dramatic turns often hit even harder. Remember his acclaimed role in Roofman last year, or his Oscar-nominated work in Foxcatcher? Now he's back with a new thriller that could finally land him that elusive Academy Award.
His latest project, Josephine, has just dropped its first trailer, and it's a gut punch. Tatum plays a father whose eight-year-old daughter, Josephine (played by newcomer Mason Reeves in a breakout role), witnesses a violent crime during a morning run in San Francisco's Golden Gate Park. The trauma leaves her deeply shaken, and she stops speaking entirely—to her parents, to a psychiatrist, to the police. The only way she communicates is through haunted stares and a subtle gesture toward her throat.
The trailer opens with a seemingly idyllic father-daughter jog, then cuts to Josephine sitting in the back of a police car as officers bring out a suspect. From that moment, the weight of being the sole witness to a serious crime presses down on her. She's thrust into an adult world of legal proceedings, forced to take the stand and recount what she saw, all while her parents—played by Tatum and Gemma Chan—struggle to help her process the unthinkable.
Chan, fresh off the hit Peacock series The Five-Star Weekend, brings a grounded intensity to the role of a mother torn between protecting her daughter and seeking justice. The supporting cast includes Philip Ettinger, Syra McCarthy, and Eleanore Pienta, rounding out a tight ensemble.
Director Beth de Araújo, known for her harrowing debut Soft & Quiet, takes a more personal approach here. The story is inspired by her own childhood memory of an unsettling incident during a park outing with her father. That intimacy shows—critics who caught Josephine at Sundance earlier this year were effusive, and the film walked away with both the Grand Jury and Audience Awards. Collider's own Taylor Gates gave it a 9/10, praising Tatum and Reeves' performances and Araújo's handling of "a much darker, uglier aspect of girlhood."
For Tatum, this is another chance to remind audiences of his range. He's already shown he can carry a crime story with charisma, but Josephine demands something rawer. The trailer suggests he's more than up to the task, playing a father grappling with his own fear and guilt while trying to be strong for his daughter.
If you're a fan of psychological thrillers that dig into the aftermath of violence, this one looks like a must-see. And if you're looking for more edge-of-your-seat picks, check out our list of the most disappointing R-rated thrillers of the 2020s to see what to skip—or our roundup of Stephen King's best psychological thrillers for a different kind of scare.
Josephine hits theaters on November 20. Watch the trailer above to see what all the buzz is about.
